Paramus buys generators for emergency situations

By Bryan Wassel

Managing Editor |

Town News

Paramus is increasing the number of backup generators at key borough buildings, a change that will improve safety during emergencies.

"After Hurricane Irene, we learned we had a lot of electricity problems without generator backup," according to Emergency Management Coordinator Guy Picone. While a program to remedy the problem was supported by the Mayor and Council, it quickly "took on a life of its own" and would have gotten out of hand without assistance from former mayor and Office of Emergency Management assistant director James Tedesco, Picone said.

Borough officials learned during Hurricane Sandy that they cannot always rely on outside sources for help during major emergencies, according to Tedesco. The state and county had to split their resources among all impacted areas, so Paramus needed its own tools in place to help people during an emergency.

"In a time of crisis and in a time of emergency, you need to have the tools to provide the safety and response to all the people of Paramus," Tedesco said. "We had some deficiencies, but with the Mayor and Council's help, we've been able to put a plan in place to overcome those."

Prior to implementation of the program, three of the borough's firehouses were without backup power in case of outages, according to Tedesco. To remedy the issue, generators are being installed at each site with plans to have them up and running by the end of the winter.

"Any time we had a power outage throughout Paramus or one of the firehouses, we had to run up there with portable generators to run the firehouses," Tedesco said. "I'm happy to say that within the next two weeks, work will start to have permanent backup generation in those three firehouses."

Borough Hall was also left without power during last year's super storm, according to Tedesco. While the borough's central building is important during the day, there are times when another building might be in more serious need, and a portable generator and trailer have been purchased to cover the needs.

"It's critical that this facility get up and running, it's a critical operation," Tedesco said. "Because we need the building operating during the day, we chose a portable generator on a trailer so we can bring it over here, plug it in and get the building running in a matter of minutes.

"But also, we realized that if in fact Borough Hall didn't need to run, but we needed a generator at another facility in Paramus or one of the other generators didn't work, it would give us a backup to one of those," he continued. "Take, for instance, at police headquarters: If that generator were to fail during an emergency, we could take the portable trailer and generator, bring it up to police headquarters, and run the entire operation off that generator."

The key to the trailer generator is the flexibility it offers while still ensuring Borough Hall keeps power when required, according to Tedesco.

While the Department of Public Works (DPW) building had a generator, it was not capable of powering the entire facility, or the most important offices in particular, according to Tedesco. The old generator has been removed and a new one will be installed. To ensure the older generator doesn't go to waste, it will be used as backup for a smaller building elsewhere in the borough.

The James Tedesco III Building, formerly the Life Safety Building, is home to the borough's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and also requires backup power, according to Tedesco. The building would not be totally powered by the installed generator due to lack of wiring, and plans are under way to complete that aspect of the structure.

"Once that's completed, that building, which runs all of our operations throughout the entire borough during an emergency, will be fully functional and operational," Tedesco said. "All the critical facilities in the borough will now be able to operate no matter what happens from a power standpoint."

The school district is also working with the OEM to come up with a backup power plan, according to Tedesco. He hopes to use both middle schools and Paramus High School as special stations in the case of an emergency, allowing people without power to use them as a place for warmth or coolness, food and a place to charge electronics.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera praised the effort, stating that while the borough handled cleanup and public safety well, there was still much work to be done ensuring Paramus residents have a place to go when they are without power.

"This isn't a shelter, but it is a place during the day where we can take people that need that and put them in a safe environment and utilize the aspects we have in the community," Tedesco said. "We are going to become a very self-sufficient and self-sustaining community once this is all in place."

The council voted unanimously in favor of spending $365,000 to move forward with the project.

Paramus buys generators for emergency situations

"After Hurricane Irene, we learned we had a lot of electricity problems without generator backup," according to Emergency Management Coordinator Guy Picone. While a program to remedy the problem was supported by the Mayor and Council, it quickly "took on a life of its own" and would have gotten out of hand without assistance from former mayor and Office of Emergency Management assistant director James Tedesco, Picone said.

Borough officials learned during Hurricane Sandy that they cannot always rely on outside sources for help during major emergencies, according to Tedesco. The state and county had to split their resources among all impacted areas, so Paramus needed its own tools in place to help people during an emergency.

"In a time of crisis and in a time of emergency, you need to have the tools to provide the safety and response to all the people of Paramus," Tedesco said. "We had some deficiencies, but with the Mayor and Council's help, we've been able to put a plan in place to overcome those."

Prior to implementation of the program, three of the borough's firehouses were without backup power in case of outages, according to Tedesco. To remedy the issue, generators are being installed at each site with plans to have them up and running by the end of the winter.

"Any time we had a power outage throughout Paramus or one of the firehouses, we had to run up there with portable generators to run the firehouses," Tedesco said. "I'm happy to say that within the next two weeks, work will start to have permanent backup generation in those three firehouses."

Borough Hall was also left without power during last year's super storm, according to Tedesco. While the borough's central building is important during the day, there are times when another building might be in more serious need, and a portable generator and trailer have been purchased to cover the needs.

"It's critical that this facility get up and running, it's a critical operation," Tedesco said. "Because we need the building operating during the day, we chose a portable generator on a trailer so we can bring it over here, plug it in and get the building running in a matter of minutes.

"But also, we realized that if in fact Borough Hall didn't need to run, but we needed a generator at another facility in Paramus or one of the other generators didn't work, it would give us a backup to one of those," he continued. "Take, for instance, at police headquarters: If that generator were to fail during an emergency, we could take the portable trailer and generator, bring it up to police headquarters, and run the entire operation off that generator."

The key to the trailer generator is the flexibility it offers while still ensuring Borough Hall keeps power when required, according to Tedesco.

While the Department of Public Works (DPW) building had a generator, it was not capable of powering the entire facility, or the most important offices in particular, according to Tedesco. The old generator has been removed and a new one will be installed. To ensure the older generator doesn't go to waste, it will be used as backup for a smaller building elsewhere in the borough.

The James Tedesco III Building, formerly the Life Safety Building, is home to the borough's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and also requires backup power, according to Tedesco. The building would not be totally powered by the installed generator due to lack of wiring, and plans are under way to complete that aspect of the structure.

"Once that's completed, that building, which runs all of our operations throughout the entire borough during an emergency, will be fully functional and operational," Tedesco said. "All the critical facilities in the borough will now be able to operate no matter what happens from a power standpoint."

The school district is also working with the OEM to come up with a backup power plan, according to Tedesco. He hopes to use both middle schools and Paramus High School as special stations in the case of an emergency, allowing people without power to use them as a place for warmth or coolness, food and a place to charge electronics.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera praised the effort, stating that while the borough handled cleanup and public safety well, there was still much work to be done ensuring Paramus residents have a place to go when they are without power.

"This isn't a shelter, but it is a place during the day where we can take people that need that and put them in a safe environment and utilize the aspects we have in the community," Tedesco said. "We are going to become a very self-sufficient and self-sustaining community once this is all in place."

The council voted unanimously in favor of spending $365,000 to move forward with the project.